Stormers shed light on scrumming secrets

The DHL Stormers have revealed how they have refused to take a backward step at scrum time despite being without two world cup winners this season.

A challenging start to the season has seen the DHL Stormers having to cope without the services of former captain Steven Kitshoff, who moved to Ulster after the world cup, while Frans Malherbe has been recovering from a back injury.

Another front-row veteran, Lizo Gqoboka, was signed to add further quality to the Stormers’ scrum after Kitshoff’s departure, but has been out since November with an arm injury.

However, currently crewed by Neethling Fouche, Sti Sithole, Ali Vermaak and Brok Harris, the Stormers scrum has still refused to go backward, even when the more youthful Kwenzo Blose and Lee-Marvin Mazibuko were placed in the front row in Leicester.

Ahead of the champions cup clash with Sale Sharks on Saturday night, forwards coach Rito Hlungwani shed a bit of light on the Stormers’ approach and how it has benefitted their props.

“It’s something I’ve spoken about in the past,” Hlungwani explained. “If I look at a guy like Neetas [Neethling Fouche], for more than five years he’s been scrumming against Steven Kitshoff in training, and he can only get better from that experience.

“It’s the same for Ali Vermaak, scrumming against Frans. It’s the only way to train. The way we train with our scrums is usually just as tough or maybe even tougher than a game, because they’re all congested, we’re training everything in a space of 20 minutes.

“So, you scrum, run a bit, and then scrum again. We probably go through maybe 10 or 12 scrums, but it’s brutal, it’s aggressive and we’re living in the midst of it.

“That scrummaging culture in terms of how we learn from each other is quite handy, pushes improvement, and produces the good results that you see at the moment. A guy like Sti, who’s been in our system before, has just come in and embraced the competition that we have in our scrum sessions.”

Hlungwani is anticipating another massive battle at set-piece time against Sale Sharks, who have won just two games in six since December.

“They’re also a very good scrummaging outfit,” Hlungwani said

“We’ve really studied them well and it’s going to be a battle. They’ve also had the short end of the stick in penalties conceded in the Premiership, but it’s something they’ve adjusted to and improved.

“We’re looking forward to a tough battle, we know they’re going to come for us, but it’s something we’re used to and we’re going to go for them as well.”

Read original story on www.sarugbymag.co.za

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